UN: Cluster bombs hit hospital in Sri Lanka

[AP]

Cluster bombs struck the last functioning hospital in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone Wednesday, the U.N. said, as the country’s president declared that the military has nearly crushed a 25-year Tamil rebellion for a separate homeland. U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said 15 U.N. staffers and 81 family members are trapped in the Puthukkudiyiruppu area, where the hospital was hit by cluster bombs. He said 90 percent of patients have been evacuated to the north including critically injured patients and the medical staff. “The last remaining medical facility inside the Vanni pocket has been effectively closed,” he said. Vanni is the area where the remaining fighting is taking place.